Conventionally, hot cathode devices and cold cathode devices are known as two kinds of electron-emitting devices. The cold cathode devices include, for example, surface conduction electron-emitting devices, field emission type electron-emitting devices (FE type), and metal-insulator-metal type electron-emitting devices (MIM type).
FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a pair of an electron-emitting device and a phosphor in a display apparatus using a surface conduction electron-emitting device as a conventional example.
In the drawing, the phosphor 5 is applied to an inside of a face plate substrate 4. Conductive films 8 and 9 are sandwiched by a pair of electrodes 6 and 7, and when a voltage having not less than predetermined value is applied to the electrodes 6 and 7, electrons are emitted from an electron-emitting portion 10. The emitted electrons draw an electron trajectory 12 shown in the drawing, so that the phosphor 5 is irradiated with the electrons. Here, an acceleration voltage which accelerates the exalt ted electrons toward the phosphor 5 is denoted by Va[V]. The voltage to be applied to the electrodes 6 and 7 in order to emit the electrons is denoted by Vf[V].
In the surface conduction electron-emitting device, a voltage is applied to the electrodes 6 and 7 connected to the conductive films 8 and 9 respectively, and thus the electrons are emitted. The emitted electrons are influenced by an electric field formed by the applied voltage, and thus the phosphor 5 is irradiated with the electrons which are deflected to a high-potential electrode side and have bent trajectories. For this reason, a shape of an emitted electron spot is deformed or distorted, and thus it is difficult to obtain an axisymmetric spot such as a circular spot.
Therefore, when the surface conduction electron-emitting device is used, a shape of an electron-irradiated region (a luminescent spot) appearing on the phosphor becomes a fan shape like a luminescent spot shown in FIG. 18. The irradiation density of the electrons in the fan-shaped region is not uniform, the irradiation density is high in some portions and low in the other portions of the region.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. Hei 9-198003 discloses a configuration such that when one row of a phosphor is displayed, electrons are supplied from upper and lower two rows of electron-emitting portions.
In order to realize high definition by using a surface conduction electron-emitting device, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 9-22673 proposes a configuration where a black conductor is arranged on a region where luminance (irradiation density of electrons) is low. FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating the configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 9-22673.